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“It’s inspiring to play in front of home fans and I’ve got a great support base here from my family and my dad. To win here in front of the locals is awesome,” he said.
The Port Elizabeth local came from behind during the final round and secured the ninth win of his career, which gave the home crowds reason to celebrate.
“I was playing nicely coming into this week, but haven’t been able to finish off the events over the past few months. I been working hard on my putting and to succeed today is a phenomenal feeling,” he said.
Roberto Lupini led by two shots at the start of the day, but the Big Easy Tour graduate was unable to hold onto his lead and shot 73 to slip back to three-under for the tournament. He none-the-less made a good challenge for the title and birdied the 17th before coming painfully close to sinking a long birdie putt at the 18th that would have forced a playoff.
“Roberto played nicely on the Big Easy Tour this year and he finished one behind today, so hats off to him,” Moore said.
Port Elizabeth is known as the windy city for good reason, but on Friday the initial wet and breezy conditions lifted and by the time Moore raised the trophy it was a beautiful day on the edge of Algoa Bay.
“The conditions swapped around today. We played with a bit of rain this morning coming downwind and then it switched to an easterly breeze. That makes the back nine a little tougher, but I kept it in play nicely,” he added.
England’s Steve Surry made a bid for the trophy with a round of 70 that included five birdies, but he was left to a share of second alongside Lupini.
Peter Karmis and wind specialist Heinrich Bruiners both shot 69 to tie for fourth, while Ryan Tipping, Doug McGuigan and Ulrich van den Berg shared sixth place on one-under-par.
It was a nail-biting final round, but in the end Moore pulled through for his second title of the 2014 season.
“I’ve been playing nicely for a while now and the win at the Telkom Business PGA Championship in April was big.
"We’re starved of decent sport here in Port Elizabeth and to win in front of the home fans is a treat,” said the Port Elizabeth local.
Scores:
140 - Titch Moore 70 70
141 - Steve Surry (ENG) 71 70, Roberto Lupini 68 73
142 - Peter Karmis 73 69, Heinrich Bruiners 73 69
143 - Ryan Tipping 75 68, Doug McGuigan 73 70, Ulrich van den Berg 73 70
144 - Derik Ferreira 75 69, Adrian Ford 73 71, Jean Hugo 74 70, Danie van Tonder 74 70, Shaun Norris 72 72
145 - Justin Harding 74 71, Steven Ferreira 73 72, Jake Redman 73 72
146 - Louis de Jager 74 72, Justin Turner 74 72, Alex Haindl 74 72, Colin Nel 74 72, Keith Horne 71 75
147 - Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 75 72, Allan Versfeld 74 73, Chris Swanepoel 73 74, James Kamte 72 75, Bryce Bibby 74 73
148 - Shaun Smith 74 74, Neil Schietekat 74 74, Alan Michell 74 74, Keenan Davidse 73 75
149 - Paul de Beer 75 74, Andrew Light 73 76, Lindani Ndwandwe 71 78
150 - Grant Muller 75 75, Andre Cruse 74 76, Desvonde Botes 72 78, Jean-Paul Strydom 71 79, Andrew Curlewis 70 80
151 - Tyrone Ferreira 74 77, Ruan de Smidt 72 79, Dean Burmester 71 80, Haydn Porteous 73 78
152 - Edwin Kutara (NAM) 75 77, Divan van den Heever 75 77, PH McIntyre 74 78
153 - Francois van Vuuren 72 81
